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COVID-19

Sweden recommends masks during rush hour, as coronavirus deaths hit record number

On Wednesday, December 30 Sweden sought to increase measures against Covid-19, recommending that commuters wear masks on public transport during rush hour, reports Reuters.

Published: 31 December 2020 11:06 CET
Sweden recommends masks during rush hour, as coronavirus deaths hit record number
Image: Denis Lovrovik / AFP

As the Swedish death toll from Covid-19 hits a record number, the updated advice on face masks comes just a day after the national health agency recommended that more healthcare workers wear masks too.

On Wednesday December 30, Sweden announced that it had registered 8,846 new Covid-19 cases and 243 deaths, the highest in Sweden since the pandemic began.

However, the health agency also said that statistics over the Christmas period could be skewed because of less testing and delays in reporting deaths.

 “We know that public transport means situations where congestion can be difficult to avoid … then mouth protection can be useful,” state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told Reuters.

The updated guidance from Sweden’s health authority and Tegnell, who was the main advocator for not locking down, marks a change in strategy for the country.

Throughout the duration of the pandemic, Tegnell has said that there is poor evidence of the effectiveness of masks and also added that they might be used as an excuse not to isolate when ill with the virus.

Sweden’s total death toll stands at 8,727. Its death rate per capita is several times higher than that of its Nordic neighbours, but lower than in several European countries, which opted for lockdowns and had stricter measures in place.

Member comments

  1. “Masks might be used as an excuse not to isolate when ill with the virus”. That’s like saying people wearing seat belts might use that as an excuse to drive faster, so we’d better not make them mandatory.

  3. It’s all down to people’s mentality and the strength and intelligence of their respective governments, irrespective of what precautions we are taking.
    I lived and worked in Sweden for several and am surprised at the amount of disregard and non-compliance the Swedes have about this pandemic.
    Take the UK for example. A poll was taken AFTER the Xmas feeble restrictions and 80% of people polled said they should have had much much tighter restrictions to keep the “knob head” percentage of UK citizens under control. That didn’t happen because of shit for brains johnson and his collection of brats wanted to feed their fat faces with turkey and such likes. I can see no other reason for NOT bringing in stronger quarantine restrictions.NOW LOOK AT US!!!!!
    Buffoon JOHNSON HAS REPEATEDLY SHOWN HIS lack of leadership qualities consistent with his lies and false promises from Brexit, PPE, Track and Trace etc to lockdown measures and vaccine distribution. Starmer is a disgrace to all labour voters for being such a weak and ineffective opposition leader to allow Covid Boris to get away with it.
    So my dear Swedes make sure every Swedish minister reads about bumbling boris and his Zombie mates like tosser Witty and co. in getting Swedens covid statistics down.

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COVID-19

Anders Tegnell: Sweden’s Covid strategy ‘a misunderstanding’

After emerging as the figurehead of Sweden's controversial, less strict Covid-19 strategy, former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell reflects on his country's path in a new book published on November 3rd.

Published: 3 November 2023 08:37 CET
Anders Tegnell: Sweden's Covid strategy 'a misunderstanding'

“We were not any kind of libertarian paradise,” Tegnell told AFP during an in interview at his publisher’s office in Stockholm.

“We were just a society trying to find good ways to handle it in the most effective way for us,” he continued.

As countries around the world started extensive lockdowns in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Sweden stood out as it opted for more non-coercive measures.

Among some of its stricter measures it did ban visits to elderly care homes and limit the number of people attending public gatherings.

But it never imposed confinement, closed schools or required people to wear masks, basing its strategy on recommendations and individual responsibility.

The approach gave rise to a heated debate abroad, and was at times held up as a cautionary tale, or on the contrary, hailed by opponents of lockdowns.

“Obviously, many perceived Swedish volunteerism as a passive approach,” Tegnell writes in his book, calling it a “misunderstanding,” while conceding communication from his agency could have been better at times.

Nursing homes

Titled “Tankar efter en pandemi” (Thoughts after a pandemic), the book reflects the phlegmatic character of the public official, with each stage of the national strategy methodically dissected and explained.

“I also thought that people actually could handle this themselves,” he notes in his book and adds that he believes his faith was justified.

“We did not force anyone but saw a huge compliance with our recommendations,” Tegnell writes.

Having become the figurehead of Sweden’s strategy in spite of himself, Tegnell recounts his astonishment at the anger and even death threats directed against him.

But he insists that a majority of Swedes supported the country’s Public Health Agency: “It was the first time that our agency had received so many flowers!”

During the first wave of the pandemic, Sweden was one of the countries hit hard, especially as the disease ravaged retirement homes, claiming the lives of 2,780 people between March 1st and September 30th, 2020, according to official statistics.

In his book, Tegnell calls it a “catastrophic situation.”

“We really need to improve the quality of care in our elderly homes, the preparedness for these kinds of issues,” Tegnell told AFP.

In total, Sweden has recorded some 19,500 deaths associated with Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Due to differences in accounting practices, international comparisons are difficult, but according to the “Our World in Data” website, Sweden is doing better than its European peers with 2,365 deaths per million inhabitants compared to 2,767 per million average for the European Union by late October.

At the start of the pandemic, the epidemiologist thought it would be easier to care for the elderly in Sweden than elsewhere in Europe, because they were all gathered together in one place, but in his book he admits he “was completely wrong,” as the homes lacked both the resources and skills needed.

Are we prepared?

Sweden also distinguished itself by never pushing for the widespread use of face masks, and they were only recommended on public transport during the second wave of the pandemic.

“Many countries in Asia have been using masks in public places for decades to limit the spread of the virus during the flu season. Had they been doing it wrong all these years?,” Tegnell ponders.

“It wasn’t my role to judge,” he continues.

“But in all the research, I couldn’t find any evidence that it made a difference for the better.” The scientist also urges authorities and organisations to take stock of the pandemic to learn for the future: “What happened and what did we do?”

The answers and conclusions drawn will be invaluable, as the epidemiologist considers a future pandemic to be inevitable, and likely “within the next few decades”.

“In many parts of the world the population is growing, which means that we start living in areas where we haven’t been before and in those areas there are very likely going to be new kinds of viruses that we haven’t seen before,” Tegnell said during the interview.

Whether we are prepared for the next one is “always difficult to know.”

“I think that we are slightly better prepared than we were for this one. But I think there is also lots more work to be done,” he concluded.

By AFP’s Nioucha Zakavati

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